I'm the type of person who gets addicted to activities once I develop an interest in them.
And no, I don't mean substance abuse, and if you are in that situation, please consider getting some help if necessary.
But yeah, I can't ever really do anything... *casually*.
I either don't like something and avoid it completely,
Or I love it and obsessively indulge in the activity until my family and friends find me disheveled in my room after not seeing--
or hearing for me for days, and the only word that can communicate are, "I'm out of instant noodles".
That's kind of what happened when I first got into Dance Dance Revolution.
I initially thought it looked dumb and didn't look all that fun or challenging.
And then one year, my family and I went to Disney World, and during the day
we stopped by an arcade in one of the amusement parks, and there was a Disney-themed DDR machine.
And these two dudes were playing a relatively difficult song, at the time.
I say at the time because the most difficult songs these days
are only possible if you vibrate from arrow to arrow. (lol)
I was so impressed by how they were both playing in sync,
And how fast their feet were moving!
Later that year, I asked my parents for a Playstation 2,
and the DDR game and the crappy soft mats.. (-_-)
And you guys know what I'm talking about.
I skipped the beginner difficulty and started off on light because I wanted to be hardcore P-RONTO!
One day, I found this video online, way before the YouTube days, and if you're an old-school DDR player you might remember
"JSB versus Reflex" playing the legend of Max on heavy.
And it might be less impressive now,
But godDAYUM, watching that made me realize how hardcore DDR could be.
And then I saw this other player named "Sketch" do Paranoia Survivor Max Oni (Challenge), which was considered the hardest song at that time.
He did it backwards, and I was like holy shhh*t, and at that point on DDR became a part of my life.
It was a game addiction that my parents didn't mind because at least I was being active.
When it comes to music, I've gone through numerous phases growing up.
When I was a kid, I listened to a lot of rock and its subgenres.
In high school, I listened to more hip-hop. (did he just dab? ugh Dom srsly)
When I was in university, It was a mixture of dubstep, Electro house, and some K-Pop.
And now it's pretty much an amalgamation of all of that, plus Japanese and anime music, which has kind of been in my life
the entire time. I like to think I don't have a specific genre of music that I would call my "favorite".
I tend to just hear something that I like and have it on repeat for 12 days straight, or until I find a new
song that would repeat the cycle.
Music is quite timeless for me, and certain songs contain specific memories embedded within it.
Maybe I played a song and repeat to make myself feel better after a breakup,
or sometimes to make myself feel worse depending on whether I was feeling masochistic that day;
Maybe it was my power song that helped me get to be final assignments when I was in university,
Or maybe it was a song that helped put me to sleep for those nights of Insomnia
One hobby I recently picked up was knitting, and it's now become a part of my daily routine.
Apparently they teach you these things as a kid, and I guess I just missed out on it or never thought I'd enjoy it.
As mundane of an activity as it can be, I sometimes enjoy repetitive actions that contribute towards a larger product.
I know some of you are saying,"HAH! Knitting?
How about a more manly pastime like football, or weightlifting, or drinking BEER? YEA! TESTOSTERONE!!1!"
You know, one day, you're gonna be stranded in the middle of nowhere
And it'll just be us two with a ball of yarn and the frigid night approaching.
Don't come to me when your nipples start stabbing holes through your shirt from the cold my shoulder turning away.
Here's a football. You can skin it and keep your ego warm.
Netflix and knit! LET'S GO!
Circling back from DDR, I think video games are probably the worst for me when it comes to addictions,
whether they're on PC, console or even mobile. And I'm sure it's the same for a lot of you.
Let me just have a look-see here and, uh, give you guys a sample of how much time I've spend on video games.
And don't think of this as a challenge for you to share how much more you've played the game.
I'm well aware that some of you see less daylight than I do.
ARK:Survival Evolved- 249 hours, and I did all that in a month.
GTA V- 244 hours.
Team Fortress 2- 383 hours.
League of Legends- 835 hours.
Maple St-- (I'm genuinely curious as to what this game is)
W-We don't speak of that.
"Why? What's there?"
Nothing. Those days are behind us. And we don't look back.
(is it some exclusively Canadian role-play game? That's my guess :T)
"Okay."
That's just a tease of the amount of gaming I've done. If there was a way I could calculate how much I played Smash,
I'd include it, but you get the picture. I ain't no filthy casual! And I know some of you are giving me that concerning tone:
"Oh My GoD dOm! You're wasting your life away with ViDeO gAmEs.
Why don't you do something more PrOdUcTiVe." And my rebuttal to that is, video games are productive!
I'm sure other debaters could put it into better words,
but I believe video games have shaped a good chunk of who I am today.
From the captivating stories to the mental exercises that video games have provided for me,
I can't say that they've ever been a waste of time...
...except Cookie Clicker.
Oh my goodness, the grandmas.
And I've met so many great people through video games with the convenience of online multiplayer capabilities.
What better way to bond and become closer with people than to play together and work towards a similar goal?
I'll be it, virtual.
Unless of course you're playing with elitist prepubescent strangers who only get massive erections from dominating other players in a game,
And any deviation from that justifies their rage and insults towards your mother.
*cOuGh* solo queue
But no matter how much I indulge in it, I think drawing an animation will be an addiction I'll never get over (thank goodness)
I mean, of course, there will be times when I'll get tired from working on projects,
And have the occasional writer's and artist's block that might take me days or weeks to overcome.
But whenever I get back into the working mood; whenever I put that pencil to the paper, or stylus to the tablet,
I remember why I enjoy animating so much and just having that ability to create.
This whole time, I've been calling them addictions, but really they're just synonymous to hobbies.
But I guess for something to become a hobby, you first have to immerse yourself in it with enthusiastic devotion.
And if you're lacking that passion for what you do, then, isn't that considered a waste of time?
Know what else is addicting? Collecting a bunch of anime merch via Loot Anime!
And it's convenient because it gets delivered straight to you every month.
If you guys head over to lootcrate.com/Domics (link below) you can enter the code Domics,
D-O-M-I-C-S, to get 10% on new subs.
And then it'll be $25 for the following months. For every crate you can get up to 8 items ranging from:
apparel, manga, posters, figurines, and more.
I recently got my cutting-edge themed crate featuring a berserk sword letter opener, a Gin Tama wall scroll, the first volume of Sword Art Online Progressive,
Bleach lounge pants, and a You-May blade charm. (I know I spelled these wrong. I don't watch anime, sorry)
Unfortunately these were last month's items,
but don't fret! You can look forward to this month's galaxy-themed crate, featuring items from Sailor Moon, Cowboy Bebop,
Robo Tech and Space Patrol Luluco, and you have until the 27th at 9p.m. PST to order.
Once again, that's lootcrate.com/Domics with the code "Domics" to save 10% on new subscriptions.
Link in the description!
Eeeenjoy!